Painted Black
by Blitz Chick
Summary: Oneshot Songfic! REPOSTAGE! After returning to the ARK, Shadow regains his memory. That means he remembers Maria as well. With a little help from an old rival, maybe he can finally move on.


Painted Black

Song By Vanessa Carlton

The black hedgehog stared out into space, his cranberry red eyes thoughtful.

I see a red door and I want it painted black… No colors, any more, I want them to turn black. I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes; I have to close my eyes until my darkness grows.

Meanwhile, across the room, a small gathering of people whispered to each other. The leader among them was unofficially Sonic, the blue hedgehog who was the black hedgehog's rival in a friendly sense. He turned his green eyes on Shadow but spoke to the group. "He's been like that ever since he got here."

Tails, a young genius fox with two tails looked up at his hero while biting his lip. "Maybe he's starting to remember some things."

Curious, the blue hedgehog looked at his friend. "What?"

"He may have a point." All eyes turned to Rouge, a female bat with white fur and pink eyes. "When I allied myself with him, he seemed to not recognize me. Perhaps he as amnesia from when he fell from the sky."

Knuckles, a red echidna and Rouge's rival treasure hunter gave his two bits. "She may be right. Ever since Shadow came up here to the ARK, he's done nothing but look out that window. Since this is the place of his creation, perhaps his memories are being returned to him." He turned his gaze to Shadow. "This is also where Maria died. Perhaps he is feeling survivor's guilt."

Shadow remained unaware of the others or their conversation. He stared into the void of space, memories of his life slowly resurfacing. Maria…

I see a line of cars, and they are painted black. Both flowers, and my love both never to come back…. I see people turn their heads and quickly look away. Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day.

Maria had kept him safe from the criticism from other scientists. And when the ARK was unsafe for him, she gave her life to keep him alive. But that had made him bitter. He wanted revenge against someone…. anyone. Just to take the blame and guilt away. It had been his fault she had died.

I look inside myself and see my heart is black, I see my red door and it's heading into black. Maybe then I'll fade away and I'll have to face the facts. It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black…

That girl had been everything to Shadow. He stared down at his white-gloved hands. Maria had once taught him there was good in everyone and everything. How could he have gone so awry? Hurting others to get rid of his own guilt…if there was someone to blame for Maria's death, it was himself.

.I want to see it painted, painted….painted black, oh baby I want to see it painted, painted….painted black, oh baby….

Across the room, Sonic made up his mind. "I'm gonna go talk to him." He declared, walking towards the pensive black hedgehog.

_No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue, I could not foresee this thing, happening to you…_

Shadow closed his eyes, angry at himself for just pushing Maria and her lessons to the back of his mind until the moments before he had sacrificed himself to save Sonic and his friends aboard the ARK. He curled his hands into fists and was about to slam them again the glass when a hand descended on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, Shadow spotted Sonic grinning at him like he usually did.

"C'mon Shadow! Cheer up."

The black hedgehog turned his head away from Sonic but did not remove the hand. "I can't." He said, his voice sounding just a tiny bit hoarse.

If I look hard enough until the city shines, my love will laugh with me before the morning comes.

"Maria is dead, and it was all my fault."

_I want to see it painted, painted…. painted black, oh black as night, black as coal, I wanna see the sun blotted out from the sky, _

The royal blue hedgehog sighed and his attitude softened. "Shadow, Maria chose to give you a life so you could do what she couldn't. Why waste it?"

The solemn black hedgehog focused his burgundy eyes on the earth below.

_Painted, painted…. painted black…. _

"It's not your fault Shadow."

Looking up, the black hedgehog stared at Sonic. How could he be so naive? Of course it was his fault! Had he never been created, Maria would not have died! Then a thought struck Shadow.

Perhaps…. perhaps nobody was at fault. He looked at the steel floor. It had been a choice Maria willingly made to save him. He had not known, so how could he be at fault? Was Sonic right after all? He raised his eyes to meet Sonic's green ones, silently asking a question.

The blue hedgehog patted Shadow's shoulder. "C'mon. There's always room for one more person with us."

Shadow's mouth twitched into just the slightest hint of a smile. He would never be completely free of guilt over Maria, Shadow knew that. But fulfilling her dreams seemed like a good way to get rid of that guilt.

_Painted, painted…. painted black… _


End file.
